RAWALPINDI: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is optimistic about talks with the outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan and says its success will restore peace in the country.

Speaking at the ground-breaking ceremony of the Rawalpindi-Islamabad Metro Bus Project here on Sunday, he said direct talks with the militants would begin in a couple of days. But he said nothing about the place where the two sides would meet.

“Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan is working day and night on the proposed dialogue between the TTP and the government which will take place in a day or two,” he said.

The prime minister expressed the hope that the dialogue would end militancy and extremism. “After restoring peace we will lead the country to development,” he said.

He lashed out at former military dictators and said militancy and extremism flourished because of their wrong policies and the country was mired today in deep social and economic malaise – militancy, corruption, unemployment, indiscipline and poverty.

Mr Sharif said a lot of precious time was wasted during years of military rule; otherwise Pakistan would have been ahead of developed countries.

He said the country’s economic indicators today were positive. He said that he had advised Finance Minister Ishaq Dar to let the dollar-rupee parity stay at Rs 98-99 because any further appreciation of the rupee would hurt exports.

The prime minister said the government was working on a plan to add 22,000 MW of electricity to the national grid in about four years to end loadshedding.

“In the past only 17,000 MW of electricity was generated which was not enough to meet the demand,” he said.